Some of our fan base do over react after a loss, but sometimes they go way too far
There is one rule that I try to stand by while being a fan and a blogger, and that is: do not go to web boards right after a loss by either the North Carolina football or basketball team. Mainly because there are not enough ledges in Chapel Hill for all the fans that are ready to jump off of them, and the threads that come out of those sites go from mind boggling to mind blowing. After the loss to Top 25 Louisville the titles of some of those posts did not disappoint when it came to that theory. While I skimmed most of them one truly had me baffled as I read people believing it was time to move on from Bryn Renner. Now, before I go on this rant post, let me say that most of the fan base did not believe in this, but the fact that some did just stunned me.
Yes, there were/are people that have decided that it’s time to shelf the starting junior quarterback and go with freshman Marquise Williams. And for those of us that have been reading web boards for a while this is could be labeled as the “Let’s get rid of T.J. Yates” movie, part two. When I read threads like this, which by all means all have a right to write what they want, it feels like some of the fan base needs an individual to lay blame on. Being that Renner is the head of the offense, especially with running back red shirt sophomore Giovani Bernard not on the field, I guess he is the one that is going to have to take the hits from the fans that have to vent.
Before I go on my rant post let me put out some of the stats about Renner from the second and third games of the season…
…Other than those let’s talk about the fact that the young gunslinger stayed in the game against Wake Forest after a demolishing blow that if he had stayed on the side line no one should have dared to say anything. But, believe it or not, some of the fans have even diminished that act when it comes to the quarterback.
Bryn Renner right after being hit at the goal line by several Wake Forest players
Now, here are some more things that should be noted about the player that some fans want out…
- Bryn Renner tied the Carolina single game record with 5 TDs. His best before this game was four against East Carolina, the team that UNC will face this coming week.
- Bryn Renner is tied with Chris Keldorf (`96 & `97) with a career total of 35 TDs.
- Bryn Renner is now sixth all time when it comes to passing yards with 3,970, including 634 in the last two games.
- Bryn Renner is in seventh place all time with 303 career completions. Including 49 between the Wake and L’Ville games.
Like him or not, wanting to make him the scapegoat is the wrong thing to do, plain and simple. Renner has done a good job as the quarterback for the Tar Heels in the past, leading the team under an interim coach, and now he is doing a great job under a new head coach and a new offensive scheme. I know that the fans sometimes like to go to the extremes, but in this case it’s one that I just can not follow whatsoever.
And if you want so more proof to what I am saying, Andrew Jones of Fox Sports Carolinas, (@AJonesFoxSports, did his weekly Honor Roll for the Atlantic Coast Conference. In it Jones had Bryn Renner in the “High Fives” portion. Another bit that comes to my aid of this post is that on the official site of Carolina sports there is a piece that talks about Renner being one of eight Manning Award Stars of the Week.
In the end the one thing that the North Carolina football program could truly blame is the injury bug. Without that the young gunslinger would have both his number one running back and two top wide outs on the field with him. However, for those that like to vent it is a lot harder to do so against injuries than it is versus someone on the field. For more information on the North Carolina football and/or basketball teams or players make sure to come back to isportsweb!